Ohio State University officials have already documented how the $483 million up-front payment to privatize campus parking operations is projected to grow to $8.9 billion – $4.9 billion in the pot after $4 billion spent – over 50 years.

So what’s in it for the Australian pension fund ponying up that cash?

University trustees unanimously approved the parking lease Friday, saying the school can do much more to enhance faculty and student life with the money than it would have by trying to improve operating efficiency and sock away incremental profits. In the past, any returns from parking have gone right back into parking and transportation expenses.

“Every physical asset on this campus has a depreciable life, but cash is forever,” said Jerry Jurgensen, former CEO of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. and head of the trustees’ finance committee.

The cash, in this case, comes from an investment fund charged with securing returns for Australian pensions. QIC Global Infrastructure, based in Brisbane, teamed in its bid with Hartford, Conn.-based Laz Parking Ltd., which will operate the garages, meters and surface lots in a management contract. They’ll create a new company, CampusPark, with QIC’s David Teed as president and retired COTA CEO Bill Lhota as its paid chairman and public face.

About 10 percent of parent company QIC Limited ACN’s $63.5 billion in funds under management are in physical infrastructure such as transportation, utilities and buildings such as courthouses. Laz works with about 10 universities around the country under management agreements, but this is the first deal to monetize the parking asset with an up-front payment. Laz Parking CEO Alan Lazowski said he expects many more to follow Ohio State’s lead. The Ohio State bid request struck the fund as unusual and worth pursuing, said Ross Israel, QIC head of global infrastructure.

“It’s a long-term asset. It has predictable cash flow,” he said.

With the rate increases allowed under the contract – 5.5 percent annually for 10 years, then the lesser of 4 percent or inflation – plus expense controls, the fund expects its own returns to beat the Australian CPI, he said, perhaps even meeting Ohio State’s estimate of 9 percent returns on its endowment.

“It’s patient, long-term capital,” he said. “It’s not looking for a two- or three-year return.”

The other finalists, also investment fund/operator teams, were New York-based Macquarie Capital and Central Parking System Inc. of Nashville, Tenn., and Industry Funds Management, another Australian company, and Parking Solutions Inc. of Columbus. Bids were tiered by what the up-front cash would be for different limits to parking fee increases, and QIC’s bid for the 5.5 percent level was still higher than the other two would have paid if allowed 7.5 percent hikes.

“We had to put our best foot forward,” Israel said.

Laz is the same company that took over parking meters in Chicago, stirring public protest over rising meter prices and resulting in a 2009 estimate that the city undervalued its deal by $1 billion. The two do not compare, Lazowski said, especially with the controls that Ohio State built into the contract. OSU CFO Geoff Chatas said the university had a year to structure its contract requirements and build in protections to avoid the mistakes made elsewhere – for example requiring 20 days when the university can take over parking again, such as dorm move-in day.

“Look at the current net operating income of the system, and the price paid, and you’d say that’s a tremendous deal for the university,” Lazowski said.